Endorsement watch: GLBT Caucus for Sylvia

The Caucus membership met Wednesday evening to consider endorsement for the vacancy in Senate District 6 created by the passing of Senator Mario Gallegos. Members had to make a very difficult decision between two amazingly qualified and pro-equality candidates, former County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia and State Representative Carol Alvarado. After a lengthy round of thoughtful and in-depth deliberations, members voted to endorse Garcia. Prior to the meeting, Garcia and Alvarado completed a thorough questionnaire and met with an eight-member screening committee.

“Sylvia Garcia’s strong record of public service and personal experiences supporting and defending members of the LGBT community will make her a strong advocate for the interests of our community in the Senate.” said Caucus President Noel Freeman. People interested in volunteering time to help our election efforts can email us at volunteer@thecaucus.org.

I’m sure that was a tough decision for the screening committee to make, and if my limited experience with Caucus meetings is representative, that discussion was very spirited discussion as well. This is the kind of election where this sort of endorsement matters, as it can serve as a tie-breaker for anyone who might be otherwise on the fence, and with turnout likely to be low, every vote really matters. The last big endorsement to look for will be the Chron’s, which I presume will be any day now since early voting begins on Wednesday. I’ll have my interviews with Commissioner Garcia and Rep. Alvarado up on Monday and Wednesday of next week, respectively.

Speaking of early voting, via Campos here are the early voting locations:

Harris County Administration Bldg., First Floor
1001 Preston
77002

Holy Name Catholic Church – Gym
1912 Marion St.
77009

Ripley House
4410 Navigation
77011

H.C.C.S. Southeast College, Learning Hub – Bldg. D
6815 Rustic
77087

Galena Park Library
1500 Keene St.
Galena Park, 77547

Hardy Senior Center
11901 West Hardy Road
77076

Baytown Community Center
2407 Market Street
Baytown, 77520

And via Stace, you can see a Google map of these locations here. For my fellow residents of the Heights who are still in SD06, the admin building and Holy Name Church are the closest early voting locations to you. Early voting runs from the 9th through the 11th, the resumes again on Monday the 14th and continues until the following Tuesday the 22nd. There is no early voting that first weekend, the 12th and 13th. Early voting hours are 8 to 4:30 on the 9th through the 11th, and 7 to 7 all other days except Sunday the 20th. Yes, it’s a bit confusing. See Harris Votes for more.